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Here are some practical pointers given by culinary experts on how to better cook and present a fine meal to your guests, whether in your own restaurant, or in your home. Should you have any tips like these to share with us from your own wealth of expertise, please email them to wileen@asiacuisine.com

Updated on 11 October 2004 “Indian families do cook light food at home but the hotels and restaurants have a tendency to make it very heavy, greasy and oily, with a lot of butter. That’s a shame. They also tend to overdo the spices in their food, which leads to the misconception that Indian food is always heavily spiced. If you just cover the flavour of the main ingredient, then what’s the point?” - Vineet Bhati, chef-owner of restaurant Rasoi Vineet Bhatia in Sloane Square, London, and member of the British Airways Culinary Council.

Updated on 11 October 2004 “When making a fondant, make sure that the chocolate-butter mixture is not too cold as it will set rapidly.” - Eric Perez, chef-owner of Visage (in Shanghai, China)

Updated on 11 October 2004 “In France it is very rare for a chef to go into the restaurant to talk to guests, but here in Hong Kong that is very important. By doing that I find that we have more repeat guests, and they make it even more challenging because you need to remember what they had last time and offer them something new.” - Laurent Andre, Executive Chef, Spoon by Alain Ducasse (at the InterContinental Hong Kong)

Updated on 15 July 2004 To serve the baker worldwide, the team of bakery technologists from DSM Bakery Ingredients created a summary of possible solutions to the most common problems in bread making: FOR OPEN TOP TIN BREAD (A) Streaks in moulding direction of crumb - decrease dough tempertature - increase humidity during intermediate proof - avoid draught during intermediate period - use less flour during moulding (B) Holes under top crust - use stronger bread flour - increase dough temperature - shorten final proof time - use less steam when baking (C) Concave sides - use a less strong bread flour - optimise dosage of bread improver - loswer dough temperature - extend proofing time before moulding - extend the baking time (D) Large irregular holes - reduce the dough temperature - minimise the temperature deviations before moulding - minimise the use of oil or shortening during moulding - use less flour during moulding - mould the dough pieces more gently For more tips on fixing common problems in close top tin bread and buns, please visit www.fermipan.com

Updated on 3 July 2004 “I ask their opinion on things because I want them to start thinking about how they would do it different, and how they can start adapting it to their style. Even as an apprentice, you can’t just mimic everything you’ve learned. You need to put some variation on it in order to evolve and be creative, or else the food will never change at all. It is good to start with the classics and have that be your foundation, but you need to do a twist every now and then too.” - Joesph Oldham, Executive Chef, The Regent Singapore, on training apprentice chefs

Updated on 3 July 2004 “It does cost money to produce a fantastic product consistently, and we have to accept this. Consistency is the hardest thing as many suppliers make numerous promises and price reduction offers to get you working with them. Then they don't deliver and the quality of the product drops. In some cases, we run with the most expensive supplier, as we know that he sources the best possible product. It has come to a stage where we accept the high costs because they are justified.” - Tristian Hope, Excutive Chef, Hugo’s, Bondi Beach, Sydney, on budgeting for a fine dining restaurant

Updated on 3 July 2004 “Something we do in America a lot is make food in colours that do not occur in nature, like bright blue or LSD pink. Food should be identifiable as having been made in a kitchen not in a laboratory in New Jersey. Culturally I am predisposed to be suspicious of food with radioactive colours.” - Anthony Bourdain, host of Discovery Channel's A Cook's Tour, on the psychology of food colour

Updated on 3 July 2004 “Murray cod, native to Australia and farmed in Victoria and New South Wales is a freshwater fish that has incredibly sweet, white flesh and the most amazing skin. If you put it in a hot pan the skin goes like parchment paper, wonderfully crispy. It’s a stunning fish!” - Peter Gilmore, Excutive Chef, Quay, Darling Harbour, Sydney, on the benefits of Murray Cod

Updated on 27 Feb 2004 Why are souffles never baked in a champagne glass? The heat will usually break the stem of the glass so unless you are completely confident, stick to ramekins. Otherwise, submerge part of the stem in hot water. Gottfried Schuetzenberger Area Pastry Chef, Grand Hyatt Singapore

Updated on 27 Feb 2004 If your dough shrinks during baking, it usually means that the dough has not been kneaded enough. If the dough rises poorly, either too little or too much fat has been used, the dough was rolled out too thin, or it was given too many turns. Wayne Gisslen from "Professional Baking", published by Le Cordon Bleu

Updated on 27 Feb 2004 When cooking a rack of meat, a good trick is to run a wedge of lemon over the cleaned rib-bones to whiten it for better presentation. Gabriele Piegaia Chef de Cucina, Bacco Italian Restaurant

Updated on 27 Feb 2004 It takes about 60,000 flowers to make one small bottle of dried saffron - hence its hair-raising price tag. Using it in your cooking would show that you care very much about the person eating it. In fact, during the renaissance period, the Italians claimed that saffron was an aphrodisiac! Michael Muller Chef De Cuisine, Jaan Restaurant, Swissotel The Stamford